Cirque du Media
by Sportfanatic2007
Summary: Follows New Beginnings. The press finds out about Josh and Donna's engagement, leading to a media circus in the White House Press Room. Final chapter has just been added!
1. Chapter 1: Should We Let The Press Know?

Disclaimer: I do not own "The West Wing" or anything associated with it. I am merely borrowing the ideas for a little bit of fun. Enjoy!

After the long first day as Chiefs of Staff, Josh and Donna headed home for some much needed relaxation. However, it would not be so easy for them to relax, especially after what Lou and Annabeth told them.

Snuggled up on the couch with Josh, Donna asked him, "Did Lou tell you that they want to announce our engagement to the press?"

Josh replied, "Why do you ask?"

"That's what Annabeth told me," said Donna, looking down at her engagement ring.

"I think that the press might as well know," said Josh, "It's like Matt told us earlier; it's not every day the White House Chiefs of Staff become engaged."

Donna smiled at him and said, "You're right. I just hope that the press isn't expecting any major details about the wedding yet."

"Probably not," said Josh, smiling to Donna, "They just want their fun. The details can wait until later."

"Yeah," said Donna, who then went on to ask, "Are you hungry? I know it was just as long of a day for you as it was for me."

"It was, and I am hungry," said Josh.

They then went into the kitchen and made spaghetti and meatballs. Once they sat down to eat, they were making a mess of themselves, since spaghetti and meatballs tends to lead to that sort of thing. They had a good time too, and forgot about how long of a day it was.

After dinner, Josh and Donna made coffee and settled back onto the couch. This time, however, they did not mention anything about their day, and found themselves watching TV that didn't involve the news.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting with Lou and Annabeth

The next morning, Josh and Donna got memos from Lou and Annabeth wanting a meeting with them before each of them met with their respective Senior Staffs. Josh and Donna knew what the meeting would be about, so they went with no questions.

Once they all were in Lou's office in the West Wing, Lou started the meeting by saying, "So, have the two of you made a decision about publicly announcing your engagement?"

Josh said, while looking at Donna, "I have no problems with it, as long as Donna's okay with it."

Donna replied, "It's fine. I just hope that the press doesn't want too many details yet. I mean, we have been engaged for only a day."

Annabeth said, "You do realize that they will have questions, right?"

Donna and Josh said, in unison, "Yes."

Lou said, "They will be asking questions, of course, but we can tell them only what you want us to tell them, and can conclude the briefing by saying the formal statement with all the major details will be released within the next week."

Annabeth added, "Lou and I will be doing a joint press briefing this afternoon at 5:00, and deal with any questions that come up then as they happen."

"Any other questions or comments?" asked Lou. When Josh and Donna shook their heads, Lou then said, "Alright, by day's end, your engagement will be announced to the press. Have a good day!"

With those words, Donna and Annabeth headed for their offices in the East Wing, while Josh headed for his along the West Wing.


	3. Chapter 3: The Calm Before the Storm

As the end of the day came near, Lou and Annabeth set themselves up for the special briefing which would be held later that afternoon.

When Sam found out about what they were doing, he said, "I can't believe you're actually announcing their engagement. I mean, they've been engaged for less than two days, and you're already going public with it."

"The press has a right to know, Sam," Lou replied, "I mean, this is probably a first in White House history, the Chiefs of Staff becoming engaged. This is news."

"And, who knows what will happen with this," said Annabeth, "By the time we come in tomorrow, there could be some good things happening with this sort of announcement."

"Yeah, and how would you know about communications, Mr. Smarty-Pain-in-My-butt?" Lou asked Sam, getting kind of snippy.

"I was the Deputy Communications Director under President Bartlet," said Sam, with an "I told you so" attitude.

"Come on, Lou. Time to finish our preparations," said Annabeth, "Have a good night, Sam."

"Same to you," he replied

As Lou and Annabeth were heading toward the press room, Lou kept thinking to herself, "What made you think you could be such a smart-ass toward the Deputy Chief of Staff. He has worked in this place before." Lou started to shake these thoughts off as she and Annabeth entered the press room.


	4. Chapter 4: The Briefing and Media Craze

After their encounter with Sam, Lou was wrapping up her 4:30 briefing (moved up for that day only), and Annabeth was looking over material for her 5:30 briefing which would follow the special briefing.

Lou wrapped up her briefing by saying, "Annabeth and I have a joint briefing coming up in a few minutes. Stay right where you are." After hearing Lou's announcement, there seemed to be one big conversation going on in the press room.

Lou made her way over to Annabeth and asked her, "Are you ready? From what I just heard, there could be quite a commotion in this press room."

Annabeth replied, "I'm ready. If the reporters are as rowdy as they sound right now, my 5:30 briefing might be pushed back a few hours or so."

Lou looked at her and said, "Nah, we'll calm them down for you to give your briefing on time."

Annabeth looked at Lou with a relieved smile and said, "Let's get this show on the road!"

With that statement, Lou and Annabeth headed up toward their podiums. Annabeth was the one to get the briefing started.

Annabeth said, "Okay, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get my regular briefing done, and we can all get out of here."

Lou then followed by saying, "You're all probably wondering why we called a special briefing, and why both Annabeth and myself are present. Well, we have an announcement that comes from both the President and First Lady's offices."

Annabeth said, "On Monday, January 20, the President and First Lady's respective Chiefs of Staff, Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss became engaged."

Annabeth's statement made the commotion that was present in the room earlier even more of a commotion, since the press was not expecting this kind of news. Even so, there was much chatter and excitement going around the room.

Lou had to yell at the reporters a few times to get them quiet again. When they finally settled down, she said, "Now, no wedding details have been planned at this time. That includes the date and venue. However, Annabeth and myself will be releasing a more formal statement when more details have been planned."

Annabeth continued by saying, "Since we have no major details at this time, we are unable to answer any questions."

This didn't stop one reporter from raising her hand and saying, "Who will be in the bridal party?"

After that, more reporters started asking questions that were just as crazy, even though Annabeth said that they didn't have any major information. Annabeth whispered to Lou, "What do you think about ending this now, so we can get on with my briefing?"

"I agree," said Lou. Turning back to the reporters, she said, "Okay, anyone here for Annabeth's briefing, please stay. Everyone else, we will make a more formal announcement when we have more details. Have a good night!" Lou then left the press room as fast as she could.

As for Annabeth's briefing, she spent more time telling the reporters that she didn't have anymore information about Josh and Donna's engagement than she did about the First Lady's events. As she was wrapping up her briefing, she thought, "Oh, boy. This must be a sign of what's going to come once we fill them with details."

As time would tell, Annabeth would be proven right.


End file.
